if me and my parents do a federal direct plus loan, when do my parents have to pay it back? (Freshman at college)
Google is your friend:
Your parents can request deferral and start payments after you leave school. Interest will accrue, so they should make payments as soon as they can.
Please be aware:
Nobody will make sure that the payments will be at a level they can afford. Run a payment estimator such as edvisors to see what the payments will be. Programs like income-based repayments are only available on student loans, not parent loans. However, there are different repayment periods, such as 10 year or 25 year schedules.
Financial advisors suggest that parents buy a life insurance policy that will repay these loans if the student dies.
Are you asking if the payments can be delayed until after your graduation? Yes, they can, but the loans will continue to grow substantially.
If you’re asking because your modest-income parents will expect YOU to pay those Plus loans back, that is a very risky plan. You’ll have your own loans to pay back, and it’s very likely you won’t be able to afford to pay back the Plus loans, too.
I know that you didn’t ask about that aspect, but we’ve seen these situations before with other Pell students.
Please consider how much you’ll likely be earning upon graduation (please don’t over-estimate) and how difficult it would be for you to make large loan payments for 10 long years.
If your parents are, alone, going to make these Plus payments, please consider whether that will be a significant hardship for them…particularly as they approach retirement age.